Trigger-happy PSPs get a desi makeover

Indian-themed traditional games are becoming the latest rage among gaming addicts in the city. Following the success of games like Hanuman: Boy Warrior, Sony Playstation has now introduced a second line-up of games called Desi Adda: The Games of India, in which the gaming enthusiast plays the role of an NRI businessman, who comes to visit his ancestral village. This is available in several regional languages, including Tamil, can be played on both the Playstation and the Playstation portable (PSP).
Commenting on the desi flavour in the new series of games, Prasanna K, a gaming addict and a final- year college student says, “I find the series addictive and fun. It’s very different and gripping as one has to play the six traditional Indian games, which include Pachisi, Aadu Puli Aatam, Kite Fight, Kabaddi, Gilli Danda etc., in order to secure a win for the protagonist.”
Elucidating on the inspiration behind this series, Gautam Kudva, the producer of GameShastra, the developer of the series which intends on bringing back the romance of old games says, “In January this year, we came up with the idea as a co-worker of one of our CEOs, who had come down from Norway saw kids playing gilli danda on the streets. He was interested in the game and so in co-ordination with Sony, we recreated this concept on PSPs.”
Alok Kejriwal, the CEO and co-founder of Games2win.com affirms that regional and city-based concepts are fast gaining popularity. He says, “This is mainly due to their retro elements, which gives people a nostalgic feel while playing. We also have several such localised games like Bombay Taxi, where a player has to park a taxi in the busy roads of Mumbai, Bombay Dabbawalla etc.”
And it’s not just on the city level — several games even focus on the villages of South India. Maruti Shankar, the CEO of 7Seas Technologies Ltd observes, “We have tried to recreate several casual playoffs like Matka Maidan, which is an extension of a traditional village game, Mamba and Samba, an age-old version of the popular game Snakes and Ladders, and Lagaan Championships, in which one can play some village-style cricket.”
Others have brought to life characters from epics and popular tales. Samir Patil, CEO and founder of ACK media says, “We aim to reconstruct the magic of traditional games with today’s youth and for this we have about 20 traditional and well-researched game titles of Indian origin, like Chaupad, The Battle of Lanka etc. In addition to that we have also recently rolled out a multiplayer online game called Legend of Katha. The setting of the game has a distinct ethnic look and feel which sets it apart from the other heavy-duty games.”